Cool Boarders Code Alien

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New game mode information and a few new screens on UEP's original PS2 Cool Boarders.

By IGN Staff

UEP Systems recently released some new information on the game modes available in its upcoming PlayStation 2 snowboarding sim, Cool Boarders Code Alien (hey, you've got to admit, it sounds more interesting than "2001"). There are seven available modes in total, if you count the extra two-player versions of certain modes, and they take a somewhat different tack than most other snowboard games.

The complete list is:

Extreme

Trick

S.B.C.

Extreme Vs.

Trick Vs.

Trick Master

License

Extreme is a close analog of something like the Slopestyle mode in MTV Sports Pure Ride, or the Boardercross mode in several games (in particular, previous Cool Boarders), combining racing and trick challenges in a single long, varied course. Speed and skill alike are thus needed to succeed, as well as a sharp eye for shortcuts and the best possible line through an expansive area.

Trick mode, however, is a little more conventional, with the exception of its Board Park section. Halfpipe and Big Air are exactly what you would expect after playing any previous snowboarding game (long boring trench, big boring wall), but Board Park is something a little more original, a complex park full of rails, jumps, and jungle-gym-esque chunks of trickable architecture. There are some less conventional objects to accompany the obvious ones, including houses and cars half-buried in the show.

S.B.C. stands for Snow Boarding Combined. Unlike Extreme mode, which tests both your racing and trick ability at once, S.B.C. divides those tests into two separate stages. Each level demands that you complete one trick session, where you have to score as many points as possible in one of the Trick mode courses, and one speed session, where you just go as fast as possible through an Extreme mode downhill. Eight opponents compete in each stage, and the highest scorers earn points toward success in a larger series. If you can't come in higher than fourth place, though, you'll wash out of the championship.

Extreme and Trick Versus modes are self-explanatory, and License is related to S.B.C. - there are three different levels of difficulty in the S.B.C. competition, and you have to earn a license (a la Gran Turismo) to compete in the progressively more advanced championships. Trick Master mode, however, has yet to be fully explained. We'll keep an eye on UEP's outlets for new information, but all will become clear in December anyway, when Code Alien is released in Japan.

-- David Smith

Alright, we lied -- you don't have to wait until September 22. Instead, we have information on Cool Boarders Code Alien now, and we can confirm that it's the first PlayStation 2 Cool Boarders game, developed by the series' original creators, Uep Systems. Code Alien will be available in December 2000, and join the growing ranks of visually impressive PS2 snowboarding games.

Cool Boarders should take the middle ground between the fantastic presentation of EA's SSX and the strong sim approach of Konami's X Games snowboarder. It does not, as yet, seem to step outside the traditional Cool Boarders formula of stunt-accented racing, although the graphics and animation, naturally, will definitely be a leap ahead. There will also be a new Board Park mode, with stunt courses that allow you to pull off advanced tricks and combinations.

The latest issue of Famitsu PS includes some interesting new information on the licensees appearing in the game. Brand consciousness being as strong as it is among extreme-sports followers, a long list of big names is a must for this sort of game, and Code Alien has it. On the equipment side, the Japanese version will bear logos from Arnette, Burton, Duotone, Forum, Foursquare, M3, Nitro, Roxy, Sessions, Salomon, Volcom, and Timex. As for music, there may eventually be more bands on the soundtrack, but for now we know that LA punk rock legend Suicidal Tendencies will be among them.

Code Alien put in a fairly low-key showing at the Tokyo Game Show, appearing only on video at the Sony booth. Its Japanese release is approaching before the end of the year, though, so we'll see how it turns out fairly soon.